Garage doors are generally known in the art as structures that form a movable barrier in an entryway to a garage or other type of building. Conventional overhead garage doors are formed from a vertical stack of horizontally folding sections interconnected by hinges and supported by a guide track.
Visible seams are created in these conventional doors where the horizontal panels of the door meet when in the closed, vertical position. These seams detract from the aesthetics of the door and may allow moisture, wind and debris to penetrate through the garage door. Repeated use of the door over extended periods may cause these seams to widen further, allowing more moisture, wind and debris into the garage, reducing the insulation capabilities of the door and further detracting from the aesthetics of the door.
The conventional manufacture of a garage door involves numerous personnel-hours and equipment operating time. The relatively heavy weights, the number of assembly steps, and the large size of the door panel can result in a slow, labor-intensive operation. These problems result in reduced ability to meet customer demands for the products. The labor-intensive nature in which the conventional doors are made results in high manufacturing costs which is not efficient. Further, these conventional production practices increase production error and inconsistent product quality.